Good Morning. Welcome to The Wire’s daily news roundup. Each day, our staff gathers the top China business, finance, and economics headlines from a selection of the world’s leading news organizations.
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The Wall Street Journal
- U.K. Orders Chinese-Owned Company to Unwind Chip-Factory Deal — Officials say takeover of Newport Wafer Fab poses a risk to national security.
- To Boost Land Sales, Local Chinese Governments Set Up New Companies to Buy Plots — Local governments’ land-related income is running 30% below last year’s level.
- Women’s Tennis Stood for Peng Shuai—and Took a Financial Hit That Isn’t Gone — Iga Swiatek had a banner year in 2022, but prize money in the Women’s Tennis Association has dropped since 2019 with its lucrative China event in limbo.
- TuSimple Co-Founder Takes Control of Self-Driving Trucking Company — Federal authorities continue to investigate entity’s relationship with a Chinese startup tied to co-founder Mo Chen.
- Activision Blizzard to End Most Game Services in China, NetEase Partnership — The two companies disagreed over issues including data control of Chinese videogame players, people familiar with the negotiations said.
- China’s Xi Jinping Chides Justin Trudeau at G-20, Video Shows — ‘Everything we discussed has been leaked to the paper. That’s not appropriate,’ the Chinese leader told his Canadian counterpart.
- Alibaba Posts Slow Growth as China’s Covid Policy Weighs — Chinese e-commerce company’s 3% rise in revenue is among its weakest revenue expansions since going public.
The Financial Times
- Guangzhou struggles to rein in record Covid outbreak — Local officials grapple with protests over lockdowns and confusion after Beijing eases pandemic rules.
- Activision Blizzard games to go offline in China after NetEase deal falls through — Agreement to distribute ‘World of Warcraft’, ‘Overwatch’ and ‘StarCraft’ has not been renewed.
- Race to launch Hong Kong’s first retail crypto futures ETF begins — The narrow range of permissible assets is expected to make competition particularly fierce.
- Spat with Trudeau upsets Xi’s choreographed return to limelight — Canadian prime minister chastised for allegedly leaking private conversation with Chinese leader.
- China playing ‘long game’ as it co-opts UK assets, warns MI5 chief — Domestic security agency making ‘biggest shift in a generation’ as it also contends with threats from Russia and Iran.
- Billions flow to nascent US battery sector with push from climate law — Manufacturers seek alternatives to China’s dominance in fast-growing electric vehicle market.
The New York Times
- What Videos Show About the Extremes of China’s ‘Zero Covid’ Policy — A New York Times analysis examines the lengths China will go to eliminate Covid infections. Three years into the pandemic, China stands out in the harshness of its measures.
- UK Sees Varied Domestic Threats, Mainly From Iran, Russia and China — In an annual assessment, the head of MI5 also cited Iranian attempts to kill or kidnap at least 10 critics of Iran’s government.
- Xi Scolds Trudeau Over Private Conversation Gone Public — The exchange, in which China’s leader accused the Canadian leader of leaking details of a brief conversation they had, happened at the end of a summit in Indonesia.
- Opinion: America Should Open Its Arms to Chinese Students — People-to-people exchange may seem banal, but it has already proved vitally important to China-U.S. relations. By Diana Fu
Caixin
- Amid Eye-Watering Lithium Prices, Battery Chief Warns of Overcapacity — Eve Energy Chairman Liu Jincheng says the market could begin to suffer from excess production as soon as next year.
- In Depth: What’s Next for China’s Covid Vaccine Strategy? — China’s announcement to “optimize” its Covid strategy on Nov. 11 gave markets reasons to cheer and even led economics professor Liang Jianzhang to predict in a Caixin opinion piece that authorities would consider a full return to its pre-pandemic state.
South China Morning Post
- Xi protégé Chen Miner tipped to move sideways to Tianjin after missing out on promotion at Communist Party congress — Promotion to the apex of power eluded the 62-year-old in reshuffle but observers say he is still likely to make it to the top team in another five years.
- China calls for ‘open’ semiconductor system as chip players debate strategies after US export controls — The Hefei Initiative urged global chip industry players to promote free trade and investment, and deepen cooperation in a ‘friendlier’ ecosystem.
- Taiwan may further restrict tech over spectre of mainland China taking sensitive technology — Lawmaker expects regulatory-tightening discussions to take place in the coming months, with an eye on preventing leaks and maintaining Taiwan’s technological edge.
Nikkei Asia
- Nvidia revenue hit by U.S. chip curbs, China’s zero-COVID policy — More weak demand expected despite alternative semiconductor offering.
- Jokowi says G-20 meetings helped cool U.S.-China tensions — Indonesia leader pleased with progress, as states finally agreed on Ukraine stance.
- U.S., China in new space race with Artemis lunar rocket launch — Washington and Beijing eye competing moon bases, next stop Mars.
Bloomberg
- Jack Ma’s Ant Incurs a 63% Profit Plunge Amid Overhaul — Ant Group Co. incurred a steeper profit decline in the three months ended in June, as the fintech giant molds itself to appease Chinese regulators.
- Netherlands, South Korea to Boost Chip Ties Amid US Curbs — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte discussed ways to enhance economic security ties, seeking cooperation in the chip industry after US export curbs to China rattled the global semiconductor market.
- First Chinese Spy Extradited to US Gets 20 Years in Jail — The first Chinese spy to be extradited to the US was sentenced to prison for attempting to steal trade secrets from Western aerospace companies, in a landmark case for American efforts to thwart Chinese industrial espionage.
- GOP Takeover of House Ensures Hard Line on China Despite Biden-Xi Conciliation — Republicans are expected to pressure President Joe Biden to pursue a more hawkish approach to China now that they’ve won control of the House of Representatives, with promises to probe White House policy toward Asia and confront Beijing more forcefully.
Reuters
- Analysis: Unmasked and in charge, China’s Xi puts personal diplomacy back in play — President Xi Jinping, conspicuously absent from the main stage of diplomacy during China’s COVID isolation, has been mostly smiles and handshakes on his return this week with a flurry of meetings that Beijing hopes will begin to mend frayed relations.
- Analysis: China’s freeze on Taiwan contact fuels worry as tensions build — China ended formal high-level communication with Taiwan’s government in 2016 after the island’s voters elected Tsai Ing-wen, whom Beijing considers a separatist, as president.
- China says Xi was not criticising Trudeau in meeting at G20 — Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular media briefing that Beijing supports having frank exchanges as long as they are held on an equal basis, and said China hopes Canada will take action to improve bilateral ties.
Other Publications
- The Los Angeles Times: With the U.S. out of Afghanistan, China comes calling — The first thing you see walking out of Kabul’s airport is a billboard advertising Chinatown, which, if you visit, turns out to be a plain, off-white trio of 10-story towers in the Afghan capital’s Taimani district.
- The Economist: Only a revived economy can save China’s property industry — But there is at least space for developers to grow.
- The Times: Lady Hale suggests British judges should quit Hong Kong court — Former Supreme Court president warns of ‘unacceptable laws’.
- The Washington Post: Hong Kong’s once-vibrant movie industry now walks a fine China line — As censorship increases at home, independent Hong Kong filmmakers are increasingly looking overseas to fund and show their work.
- Politico: As Xi reemerges, Europe again falls prey to China’s divide-and-rule tactics — Xi met European national leaders to push his economic agenda, but shunned Brussels representatives, who see him as a ‘systemic’ rival.
